Since it was the fall. The theme was game. We ignored this and started with the wonderful grilled octopus salad, clearly grilled over a wood fire. Our other appetizer was more in line with the game theme, we had a squab pastrami with a salad of greens, fingerling potatoes and foie gras. Pastramis are cured and smoked dry and concentrate the flavors deeply. Squab has a powerful, red meaty taste and this preparation emphasized and enhanced it nicely.

Then came the game birds. They had an entire aviary, but we chose the grouse and the wood pigeon. They were both simple preparations, so the flavors of the birds, wild and woodsy, stood out. It is hard to describe the taste of game birds without reusing words, as one does for wine. The grouse was deep red, intensely meaty, and the wood pigeon dark brown, almost like earth. No wonder autumn is our favorite season.

Picholine has wonderful desserts. We are sure of it. Granted, we have never tried them. We always go for the cheese tray. Picholine, and it's sister cheese restaurant Artisanal, have the best cheese dungeon in town. We went crazy and had six different cheeses, all with great strength of character and perfectly ripe and ready.

In all, this meal was as great as our last one. Who needs mingy white truffles in a off year, when you can eat exquisite game birds? The food is rich here and you will love everything, so come hungry.